Renegade: The Making of a President
by Richard Wolffe
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Book Reviews of Renegade: The Making of a President
Book Review: One Insider's Glimpse
Summary: 4 Stars
So I have to say upfront in this review that I'm an Obama supporter. I have been a supporter of his since the Democratic National Convention in 2004 when he gave the keynote speech and blew everyone out of the water. So having an insider's glimpse into the campaign was a revelatory and fascinating look at the man, his machinery, and how he forged his path to the presidency.
Richard Wollfe spent much of the past two years in the Obama campaign, with unique access to the candidate. Because of this, we occasionally get Obama's view of the events of the campaign as they unfolded: the Revered Wright controversy, his battles with Clinton, and the lead up to the "A More Perfect Union" speech. These brief insights show Obama to be a cool, proactive character. Trusting the people around him, he built an incredible fundraising apparatus, which began to propel him towards financial independence as the momentum of the campaign grew.
And it really all started with Iowa, where Obama's strategy of not overtly trying to woo the older Democratic voters, but unconventionally going after the younger voters and independents that really paid off with his victory in the state. I never really knew how much time and effort he put into the state, but it was a masterstroke of organizing and excitement that showed America it was time to pay attention to this candidate. I loved that chapter!
Wolffe divides the look into different chapters, with a focus on some of the different issues in the campaign like race and the economy. Because of this, the book doesn't necessarily follow a complete timeline, but will go forward and backward in the campaign, which upon first reading, was slightly confusing. After having won Iowa early in the book, Wolffe revisiting the Iowa campaign again and again to make additional points, which sometimes lead to some confusion to where in the narrative I was. But that was a minor problem.
With the campaign so fresh in our minds, I highly recommend this book. It was extremely interesting to look at the candidate's progress from a "celebrity" to a "president", and the transformation that Wolffe captures is fascinating indeed.
Book Review: What do you call cheerleading after the game is over?
Summary: 3 Stars
I think the world of President Obama but this book goes way over the top. There are lines in here that sound like Chuck Norris jokes but they're totally serious. For example, in the afterword, it is revealed that Obama prompted the idea of writing the book. His aide and friend Marty Nesbitt is quoted: "He's always WAY ahead of you. Like he told you that you should write a book. He's way ahead of you on that. He's thought it all the way through. He's so SMOOTH that he does it in a way that you think he hasn't thought it all the way through. But he has."
Or, on pages 269-71 consider the following topic sentences of successive paragraphs:
"The high wire strategy succeeded better than anyone expected."
"As the TV debates approached, these numbers gave Obama's aides confidence."
"Obama's confidence was not just based on poll numbers."
"They picked up their game and took to the road."
"Obama's debate staff was meticulous."
"Obama more than held his own during the first debate."
"Naive was a better way to describe the foreign policy comments of Sarah Palin."
"With or without Palin's comments, McCain's attacks on Obama's experience rang hollow."
It's like listening to cheerleaders after the game is over. But nominally this is supposed to be journalism.
I could go on but let me refer you to a funny review by Andrew Ferguson of the Weekly Standard, titled "the Fawn Patrol" who paints the author as a serial sycophant by quoting equally fawning statements by the author about George W Bush when The Worst President Ever was in the White House.
Anyway, another weird thing about the book is it is not chronological. You go from thinking about running to Iowa to New Hampshire then back to a year before Iowa and so on.
Well, I needed a beach read for a weekend and this did the job. It's light and amusing, although the amusement is unintentional I think. Because I rate the subject a "5" and the authorship a "1" I give the book 3 stars.
Book Review: A mixed package
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is interesting. It has something in it for everyone, no matter what your opinion is of the President. However the book isn't quite what you expect. The good thing of the book isn't what you expect and vice versa.
Most people when they pick up the book think they are getting a first hand account of the campaign. There is some of that in the book with some shortfalls. This book isn't a good book for a comprehensive history. The book is very choppy. There is no story telling along a time line. Also, you can say the author is very biased. That fits though, the book is about the candidate, and not the whole campaign. Some events in the campaign is totally missed and other significant events are glossed over with minimal detail.
The good aspect of the book is how it describes what it does describe. The intimate description of the events makes it come alive; like you are there watching it unfold. You also learn about some things that did not make the press like secret meetings and the view they had. The book also shows how campaigns function nowadays. You see how campaigns work through an intricate web of relationships. That comes out in very clearly in the book.
The overall big thing in this book is you get to see the candidate like no where else, including his autobiography. Through his little stories you see who the President is. I wish this book would have come out before the election. I think the results would be different. You don't see anything bad about him. I think the book casts him in his true light, liberal man full of passionate beliefs. The people around him are the same way. You see his strengths and his shortfalls through how he reacted through the day to day events. I think the book also sort of captures how he thinks. That is valuable to understand events now.
The book does read like a ball game account. No matter your position you will see the excitement that is politics. I think most will like the book for that reason alone.
Book Review: A deep, complex, marvelously written, humorous and thought-provoking book.
Summary: 5 Stars
Written with a reporter's keen eye for observation, a commentator's penchant for analysis, and the affinity and fondness for humor of an anchorman of late night shows, "Renegade: The Making of a President", a biographical book on President Obama, is a joy to read. Even though this book is based mostly on information gathered by the author during Mr. Obama's campaign for President, it reads like a biography of President Obama because the author has chosen to include a lot of biographical information also.
Interspersed with humor and witty comments throughout the book, the book is a joy to read. For example, when Obama decides to offer the job of Secretary of State to Mrs. Clinton, one of Obama's senior aids says: "There was a lot of encouragement from inside the Senate to get her into this job. They wanted her out of there."
Unlike several of his former colleagues in the senate, Obama holds no grudges and he tends to forgive people: "His staff opposed the idea for the most part, arguing that Clinton would never be truly loyal. But Obama was willing to leave the primaries behind, including his own strong feelings at the time. "I don't hold grudges," he told his aides. "I don't worry about the past. I'm concerned about what happens now. If she can help me and Bill Clinton isn't too much of a liability, we should seriously look at this."
The word "Renegade" refers to the code word the Secret service used for candidate Obama. I have no doubt that the code has now been changed. Those who have read President Obama's two autobiographical books, "Dreams from my Father" and "The audacity of Hope" will get a deeper insight into the President's life, beliefs, philosophy and character. How his work as a community organizer has influenced his thoughts, ideals and beliefs is explained here very lucidly.
"Renegade: The Making of a President" is a complex, marvelously written, deep, humorous and thought-provoking book.
Book Review: Pitch perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
For those of us who have gotten to know Richard Wolffe over time with his peppery-staccato delivery, a question could be asked... "can he also write?" Indeed he can, and more. "Renegade", the best look at Barack Obama and the campaign thus far, presents a combination of recent history and wonderful insight.
Wolffe, who had extraordinary personal access to Obama, is no stranger to American politics and his keen observations make this book sail. As one would expect, there is much coverage of the campaign itself and while the usual cast of characters... McCain, Palin, Biden, etc. make appearances... the most intriguing is his opponent-cum-ally, Hillary Clinton. The author's finest moments come when he describes the complex relationship between the two and how they eventually formed their present partnership.
But it is Barack Obama, himself, that Wolffe helps us to understand. If a recurring question during the campaign (most often posed by Republicans, it seemed) was "who is Obama?" then the author really succeeds, as best anyone can, at explaining our forty-fourth president. Wolffe takes Obama (who is often brooding and somewhat politically mercurial) and seeks to connect the president, his thoughts and feelings, his outlook and his temperament to people who find Obama a man of particular interest.
Wolffe, himself, stays largely in the background and there are few direct references to any conversations they had during the many months on the campaign trail. Yet at the end, the author allows himself some sunshine and how he became convinced, with Obama's suggestion, to write this book. "Renegade" is far more than an iteration of a race for the presidency...yes, it's a terrific analysis of the methods by which a person can become president, but in this case it is also an examination of an individual who, two years ago, became the most unusual and perhaps the most remarkable person ever to enter a campaign for the White House.